Augustines promise a big surprise for Reading Festival

Returning to the Festival Republic Stage with a shortened name and a new album, Augustines have promised a show of surprises.

“People can expect to be smiling and they can expect to have a good time,” says multi-instrumentalist Eric Sanderson.

“Maybe if a friend said go check these guys out I think they can expect at least one moment during one song where hopefully they get ‘it’.

“And if they do get it their heavy backpack will be a little lighter.”

The Brooklyn trio – Eric, singer/guitarist Billy McCarthy and drummer Rob Allen – are in the midst of an intense tour promoting their self-titled second album, which is taking them from one European festival to another.

The band refer to the latest album as a ‘walkabout’ – it tells the story of going on a journey to re-find yourself after a life-changing experience.

Eric says: “On this record we finally got an opportunity to live our dream. The last record was very difficult and full of emotional turmoil and struggle and pain.

“When we started working on this record it was called Now You Are Free. Because when you invest all your time and heart and passion into getting somewhere and overcoming obstacles and finding a sense of peace and you finally get there, you’re free to do whatever you want. We’re free to finally prove ourselves to people and live life the way it should be.

“We plan to translate that to the stage. We have such appreciation for people who listen to our music and just want to go out and have a good time.”

Augustines are well known for getting close to their fans at their gigs, sometimes shunning the stage altogether to play in the midst of the crowd.

The trio have played at Reading once before, on the same stage in 2012 when they were known as We Are Augustines. Eric has vivid memories of the gig claiming it “was the first time at a major festival it all clicked together”.

“I can’t wait for [this year] to be honest. Last time we played Reading it was one of the last festivals we did but was probably my favourite,” he says. “Reading is a nice mix of age groups and it seems like people really appreciate music.”

He remembers huge beach balls being released into the crowd and the fantastic response of the audience.

Although beach balls might not feature in this year’s performance, surprises are definitely in store.

“Big surprise but we can’t tell you about that,” Eric teases. “We are playing around with different techniques of performance, I will say we break down the barrier between the audience and the band.

“We hope it makes the show more diverse.”

In terms of set list Eric said nothing is set in stone yet but the band will definitely be playing old and new tracks.

“We might change it up last minute but we are always trying to create a memory.”